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Harley-Davidson Dyna Glide service
One of the great charms of the Harley-Davidson V-twin is its simplicity. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to work on these bikes and day-to-day servicing should be easily within the abilities of the home mechanic Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our…
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Gasket teach in
Apart from wooden beer and wine barrels, the majority of fluid containing vessels are one piece structures. Not so engines. Joints are a feature of their design and oil tight seals are essential… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below……
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Girder forks
Feared by some, girder front forks were a light, reasonably strong early solution to steering and front suspension. Today, most are at least 50 years old, so need regular checks and maintenance to make sure they remain safe to use… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one…
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Clutch – a history
Pioneer riders, on direct drive motorcycles, struggled on steep hills and with starting their machines. The advent of clutches, along with methods of altering drive ratios, broadened their horizons immeasurably… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert Article continues…
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BSA M24 Gold Star
‘World’s finest standard sports 500’. So boasted BSA… but to some, Gold Stars are overpriced and unnecessary, though to many others – including our scribe – BSA was quite right, and they are simply the best ohv singles ever made… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one…
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Norton Navigator
The Norton Navigator was never that popular in its day, though then – as now – it had its devotees… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert
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BSA CB34 1954
The Clubman Gold Star is one of the most iconic and revered motorcycles ever made. This CB34 is a touch earlier – and rarer – than the more usual Clubman DBDs, but it still has plenty of pedigree… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our…
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Matchless G12 CSR
Sports twins were very much in vogue at the turn of the 60s and the offerings from AMC in Matchless and AJS guise were up among the best Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert
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Ariel KH
The Ariel KH perhaps lacked the glamour of some of the other 500cc twins available in the 1950s, but it had a lot going for it… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert Article continues below… Advert Article continues…
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Vincent V-twin
What is the ultimate classic motorcycle? The model that the whole movement is based on? That’s right, the Vincent V-twin. Jim Reynolds rides a brand new Vincent V-twin… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert Article continues below… Advert…
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Buying Guide: Royal Enfield Meteor 700 (1953)
Mark Mumford owns one of the very first true British superbikes. And RealClassics gave it an award…
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Buying Guide: BSA A65 Thunderbolt (1968)
Forty-two years after it rolled off the production line, owner Tony Clements reckons that it’s possible to keep an 650 Thunderbolt in better-than-new condition, and he’s got the prizes to prove it…
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Buying Guide: Suzuki RE5M
Suzuki’s rotary-engined RE5 was a high tech but heavy and thirsty alternative to conventional piston-engined superbikes. Not surprisingly, it didn’t catch on…
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Buying Guide: Suzuki RE5M
Suzuki’s rotary-engined RE5 was a high tech but heavy and thirsty alternative to conventional piston-engined superbikes. Not surprisingly, it didn’t catch on…
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Road Test: Harley-Davidson Electra-Glide Classic
2003 was the centennial year for America’s legendary Harley-Davidsons and Rod Ker gets a taste of the unique (and sometimes downright scary) motorcycling experience that 800 lbs-worth of Milwaukee V-twin provides…
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Road Test: Harley-Davidson Electra-Glide Classic
2003 was the centennial year for America’s legendary Harley-Davidsons and Rod Ker gets a taste of the unique (and sometimes downright scary) motorcycling experience that 800 lbs-worth of Milwaukee V-twin provides…
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Old Bike Mart Unearthed – March 2013
This month’s unearthed readers bikes and finds… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert
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Bristol Show image gallery: 5
More ‘out and abouts’ from last weekend’s motorcycle show at the Royal Bath & West Showground, Shepton Mallet Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert Article continues below… Advert Article continues below… Advert
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Bristol Show image gallery: 6
Mixed bag of images from recent Bristol motorcycle show, including scooters, outside stalls and some decorated bikes after the winniers list was announced… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert Article continues below… Advert Article continues below… Advert
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Bristol Show image gallery: 4
Out and about in the accessory halls at the Bristol Show. Buy those spares for your next project bike! Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert Article continues below… Advert Article continues below… Advert
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Bristol Show image gallery: 3
Another batch of ‘spots’ at the 33rd Carole Nash Bristol Classic MotorCycle Show… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert Article continues below… Advert Article continues below… Advert
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Bristol Show image gallery: 2
A short sample of some of the delights at The 33rd Carole Nash Bristol Classic Motorcycle Show… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert Article continues below… Advert Article continues below… Advert
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Road Test: Matchless ‘Golden Eagle’ G50CSR
‘Why, oh why, didn’t AMC produce it?’ asks Peter Dobson. Whatever the reason, it remained a homologation special for its brief life…
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Road Test: Matchless ‘Golden Eagle’ G50CSR
‘Why, oh why, didn’t AMC produce it?’ asks Peter Dobson. Whatever the reason, it remained a homologation special for its brief life…
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Phil Read to star at Stafford
Phil Read, one of the world’s most successful Grand Prix racers, with eight world titles and eight Isle of Man TT wins to his name, is the guest of honour at the 33rd Carole Nash International Classic MotorCycle Show, which takes place at Stafford Showground over the weekend of April 27-28…
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Greeves ’crosser best in Telford show
Alan Wright’s Twin Shock, Classic & Road Racing Show drew crowds to Telford in Shropshire over the weekend of February 9-10 and Ian Hodge’s immaculate 1966 Greeves 250cc MX2 was finally voted Best in Show after the judges settled a dead heat between three bikes…
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Classic Bike Shows app now available
If you have an iphone or ipad there’s a new free app available from the Classic Bike Shows team…
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Freddie Williams
Following a stroke, former World Speedway Champion Freddie Williams passed away on January 20, 2013, aged 86…
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Firing up the Norton Domiracer
Chris Hawksley fires up the Norton Doimtracer at the 33rd Carole Nash Bristol Classic MotorCycle Show
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Walkabout at Bristol Show
Editor of TCM James Robinson checks out a pair of Broughs on the Bonhams stand and explains the differences between a slimline and wideline Featherbed frame…
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Bristol show highlights
The 33rd Carole Nash Bristol Classic MotorCycle Show 2013 – Highlights
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Buying Guide: Pre 65 trials bikes: Francis-Barnett
Pre 65 trials bikes these days bear little or no relation to the way such sporting bikes actually were pre 1965, Classic Dirtbike has a look at a bike ‘as ridden’ in the day…
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Archive pic: Nigel Rollason and Donny Williams
After an enviable run of TT and Manx Grand Prix results Nigel Rollason, with the late Donny Williams holding down the third wheel, finally stood on the top step of the TT podium after the second leg of the 1986 Sidecar TT, and in doing so made history…
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Buying Guide: Pre 65 trials bikes: Francis-Barnett
Pre 65 trials bikes these days bear little or no relation to the way such sporting bikes actually were pre 1965, Classic Dirtbike has a look at a bike ‘as ridden’ in the day…
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Classic Dirtbike on sale
In this issue, untouched Francis-Barnett plugger, JBR Honda profiled, an hour with ISDT Americans, hot CR250 Husqvarna, Montessa Cappra and all the usual regulars, columnists and technical features. On sale now…
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Classic Racer on sale
Exploding the RG500 myth, thinking small with a Bultaco TSS 50, Harley-Davidson racers, Honda collection, sport down under and all the usual regulars and columnists. On sale now!
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Video bike reviews from Bristol Show
The Classic MotorCycle editor James Robinson goes walkabout at the recent 33rd Carole Nash Bristol Classic MotorCycle Show and talks about some of his favourite exhibits…
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Buying Guide: Yamaha RD400
This month we look at one of the classic scene’s seminal air-cooled strokers: they don’t get much better than the Yamaha RD400…
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Fergus Anderson on an AJS, February 1947
Fergus Anderson poses on a new AJS 7R racer – not a machine normally associated with him – in February 1949. One of the British pioneers of racing on the continent and a ‘continental circus’ founder member (with, among others, Ted Mellors), Anderson had a rich and varied life, which culminated in his racing…
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Buying Guide: Yamaha RD400
This month we look at one of the classic scene’s seminal air-cooled strokers: they don’t get much better than the Yamaha RD400…
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Workshop: BSA pre-unit service notes
‘Polly’ Palmer, chairman of the BSA Owners Club goes through the A7/10 Bri-Tie style!
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Workshop: Stud issues
A motorcycle strip-down will often stall with fasteners stubbornly stuck in situ. Before resorting to the electric drill, a range of agents, planned force and tools often removes all but the most awkward customers…
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Workshop: BSA pre-unit service notes
‘Polly’ Palmer, chairman of the BSA Owners Club goes through the A7/10 Bri-Tie style!
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Workshop: Stud issues
A motorcycle strip-down will often stall with fasteners stubbornly stuck in situ. Before resorting to the electric drill, a range of agents, planned force and tools often removes all but the most awkward customers…
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Star Bikers 35th Annual Egg Run
Sunday 17 March is the diary date for the Star Bikers 35th Annual Egg Run, a long-running charity rideout. Bikes will be setting off from the Brittania Stadium, Stoke on Trent…
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Buying Guide: Honda CB250
Honda’s twin was the learner-legal start for many who couldn’t bring themselves to buy a two-stroke. Here’s how to tell which is which…
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ON NOW! The 33rd Carole Nash Bristol Classic MotorCycle Show
A spectacular display of classics is promised at this weekend’s 33rd Carole Nash Bristol Classic MotorCycle Show. It’ll be a belter, with new traders joining the loyal regulars at what is now the third largest classic show in the United Kingdom…
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Buying Guide: Honda CB250
Honda’s twin was the learner-legal start for many who couldn’t bring themselves to buy a two-stroke. Here’s how to tell which is which…
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Bristol Show video
There’s still time to make it to Shepton Mallet and witness a stunning display of classic motorcycles and bike trade stalls. This video highlights some of the exhibits and attractions. The Show runs today until 5pm…
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Cloudless Sunday at Bristol bike Show
A cloudless day greeted the earlybirds at the Bath & West Showground for the second and final day of the ‘Bristol’ motorcycle show. Over 600 classics are on display and there’s something for everyone…
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Show winners picked at Bristol
Our independent judging panel have pored over the classics on display and come up with a winners list. It’s an unenviable task as there are so many good machines on display…
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Bristol Show closes its doors
Gates have closed and the sun’s setting on another superb Bristol Show. The weather behaved throughout the weekend and the biking community and enthusiasts flocked to Shepton Mallet as a result…
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Bristol Show gates open!
Sun’s shining and the padlocks have come off the gates at the much anticipated 33rd Carole Nash Bristol Classic MotorCycle Show at the Bath and West Showground, Shepton Mallet…
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Norton Domiracer fired up at Bristol!
Chris Hawksley of Solo Motorcycle Products sent a shiver down the spines of showgoers earlier as he fired up his Norton Domiracer 500cc replica. This is as close as you’ll get to the original Sixties prototype which raced at the Isle of Man…
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Sammy Miller on stage at Bristol Show
Sammy Miller, our VIP guest of honour at this weekend’s 33rd Carole Nash Bristol Classic MotorCycle Show, has just finished his second stint on stage. Sam, always the crowd pleaser, reeled off one anecdote after another…
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Bristol show: setting up
Bikes are being wheeled in, positioned and polished and stallholders are setting up their displays. Her’s a short selection of our image favourites… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert
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Bristol MotorCycle show: setting up for success
The Mortons Media team and Bristol bike stall holders are a hive of activity setting out their wares for this weekend’s blockbusting motorcycle show at Shepton Mallet…
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Privateer champion joins SMT Racing for TT ride
Former leading British Superbike Championship team SMT Racing will return to the Isle of Man TT Races in 2013 with reigning TT privateer champion Dan Stewart signed up to ride…
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Gravesend Thameside Cup Trial
The Gravesend Eagles MCC held its annual Thameside Cup Trial at Jacksons Wood, near Horsmonden in Kent last Sunday (Feb 10). Much rain before the event caused last-minute revisions of the sections, but the rain continued during the trial and turned it into a true mud-plug…
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Ride the hill at the Prescott Bike Festival
Set at one of the most prestigious hill climb venues in the UK against the beautiful backdrop of the Cotswold countryside, the Prescott Bike Festival offers a rare opportunity to ‘Run the Hill’ on your own bike…
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200 Miglia Imola Revival
The 200 Miglia Imola Revival, now in its third year, will take place on April 19-21, a date which is in line with the original 200 mile race. Organiser, DG Sport, promises a great weekend as it celebrates 60 years of the Imola circuit.
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The way we were: March 1938
The following is a direct quote from On the Four Winds, compiled by Nitor…
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VMCC Sprint section AGM
The Annual General Meeting of the VMCC Sprint Section recently took place at Brooklands. Before the main business, there was a presentation of awards…
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Old Bike Mart product news
Getting switched on with a magneto ignition key, big end bolts and nuts for BSA’s poplular A10 and A65 twins and a superb pair of despatch rider type gauntlets…
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Buying Guide: Honda CB900
The CB900 has always played second fiddle to its CBX1000 big brother. But this was Honda’s production racer for the biking masses and has got to be the biggest bargain on the classic market…
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Buying Guide: Honda CB900
The CB900 has always played second fiddle to its CBX1000 big brother. But this was Honda’s production racer for the biking masses and has got to be the biggest bargain on the classic market…
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YCRT prepares for finale
Yamaha Classic Racing Team (YCRT) founder Ferry Brouwer has announced that after nearly a decade of activity, 2013 will be the final season for the unique team of legendary racing bikes and riders from Yamaha’s golden era…
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Reference: Vincent Rapide
The Vincent name has always carried a certain exclusivity and mystique – and the pictures of this glorious Rapide perhaps help illustrate why…
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Road Test: Rudge Special (1938)
Though it was called a ‘Special’ the so-named model was actually the cooking 500cc single in the Rudge range – much to the embarrassment of one concours judge who awarded it first prize in the Specials’ Class at a classic show, much to the derision from Triton builders…
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Reference: Vincent Rapide
The Vincent name has always carried a certain exclusivity and mystique – and the pictures of this glorious Rapide perhaps help illustrate why…
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1926 Lightweight TT
The 1926 Lightweight TT descended into controversy and near farce when following the race, runner-up Pietro Ghersi, the Moto Guzzi star, was excluded from the results on a technicality. He had used a different spark plug than specified on his entry form…
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Road Test: Rudge Special (1938)
Though it was called a ‘Special’ the so-named model was actually the cooking 500cc single in the Rudge range – much to the embarrassment of one concours judge who awarded it first prize in the Specials’ Class at a classic show, much to the derision from Triton builders…
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The way we were: March 1988
The FIM banned the Norton rotary racer from the World Formula 1 championship. The international organising body stated its 2:1 ration rule put the Norton’s capacity at 1176cc, not the 588cc Norton claimed…
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Show’s ultra-rare racer adds to Bristol attractions
A faithful replica of a racing machine so rare you’re never likely to see one in the flesh has been added to the line-up for Bristol’s biggest and best gathering of classic motorcycles…
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Pre 65 trials bikes: Francis-Barnett
Pre 65 trials bikes these days bear little or no relation to the way such sporting bikes actually were pre 1965, Classic Dirt Bike has a look at a bike ‘as ridden’ in the day… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article…
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RealClassic 106 out now!
This month’s magazine features a bunch of British bikes, from Triumph, Norton, BSA and AMC; two Italians by Guzzi and Morini, and more steam engines that any other motorcycle magazine we’ve ever encountered…
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Hi-tech tyres
Continental has launched a new radial tyre designed specifically for British bikes from the 1960s and 70s and which suits Japanese motorcycles from the SOHC CB750 onwards…
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Get up early for 75th Pioneer Run
The annual Sunbeam MCC’s Pioneer Run will soon be upon us again, but this year, it will be very special in various respects…
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Beat that! Bill’s ‘Old Bill’ Pyrenees
As is often the case with visits to our archive, a search for one thing pitches up something else that refers to a totally unrelated conversation days before…
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Old Bike Mart: news in brief
Camera comp, racing up t’north, licence loophole closed and grab a coach to visit the Classic Motorcycle Show
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Workshop: Decoking two stroke exhausts
Is a 25 percent power increase for less than the cost of a takeaway for two really possible? Find out as we delve into the carbon-encrusted twilight zone that is often found in two-stroke exhaust systems…
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Straight from the plate: 1925 Amateur TT
By 1925, the Amateur TT was gaining momentum. First held in 1923, the third running, to start at 11am on September 10, attracted 47 entries (and 41 starters), with a 500cc capacity limit, though there was a separate cup for the best 350cc machine…
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Classic camera: Paris to Tibet April 1951
Four young Frenchmen set off on an intrepid expedition, leaving the Place de a Concorde in Paris, with the Obelisk of Luxor prominent, bound for Tibet. Their machines are 125cc Lambrettas…
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Classic Camera: Up Helvellyn by motorcycle – September 1913
Raymond Drinkall forces his 4½hp Quadrant onward and upwards, during his attempt to be the first motorcyclist to successfully reach the summit of Helvellyn in the Lake District. At 3117ft above sea level, it is third only to Scafell Pike and Scafell in terms of loftiness…
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Annual MoT
Do you approach the annual MoT with confidence or trepidation? OBM takes the VMCC’s Triumph SD along to Clarke’s Garage in Horncastle for ‘the test’…
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Suzuki RM125S pocket rocket
By 1975, it was clear to Suzuki’s motocross development team that the factory’s TM range of machines was no longer good enough to cut it in the real world of competitive racing
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Workshop: Decoking two stroke exhausts
Is a 25 percent power increase for less than the cost of a takeaway for two really possible? Find out as we delve into the carbon-encrusted twilight zone that is often found in two-stroke exhaust systems…
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Strong line up for Davies Motorsport
Davies Motorsport, founded by ex-racer John Davies, has lined up a strong pair of riders for its 2013 Classic TT campaign…
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National TV debut for Manx Grand Prix documentary
A behind the scenes documentary on the 2012 Manx Grand Prix is to get its world premiere on the Isle of Man on Monday…
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Identity parade
Ben Graham took time out from howling round race tracks on his T110 in BHR events to drop us a line…
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Ivor England – one of the greats
The scrambles world lost one of its greatest former riders when Ivor England passed away on Thursday, January 17. He was 82…
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Benelli GP 250cc ex-works racer start up
One of only a maximum of four (some reports say only three) 250cc Benelli racers built in 1959, these rare machines were campaigned by riders including Geoff Duke, Mike Hailwood, Dickie Dale, Silvio Grassetti and Tarquinio Provini, with Provini�s 1964 US GP outing the model�s last �works� race.
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Old Bike Mart Unearthed – February 2013
This month’s unearthed readers bikes and finds… Article continues below… Advert Enjoy more classic motorcycle reading, Click here to subscribe to one of our leading magazines. Article continues below… Advert
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The way we were: March 1913
The Royal Flying Corps ordered 12 Douglas Model O solos (348cc fore and aft twins with two-speed gearbox, but no clutch or kick starter) and eight single cylinder 3½hp two-speed P&Ms (image) for testing…
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SIP propane space heaters
Christmas may be a distant memory, but baby it’s still cold outside. If you’re lucky enough to have a sizeable workshop where you can fettle, you’ll need to keep yourself warm this winter…
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Vintage bikes go big in the States
Our US cousins can’t get enough of classics: the second annual vintage motorcycle festival is set to go ahead at the famous LeMay American Car Museum in Tacoma, Washington on August 24-25 this year…
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Reference: NSU-Vincent Fox
Vincent and NSU entered into a little known partnership, to sell lightweight commuter motorcycles on the British market. This is a rare survivor…
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Buying Guide: BMW singles
To most classic enthusiasts the hallowed name of BMW is associated with bikes having two cylinders sticking out sideways. Rod Ker offers a different point of view…
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